Press releases

The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today a revised Decision confirming the quality of unsolicited credit assessments assigned by certain External Credit Assessment Institutions (ECAIs) for calculating institutions' capital requirements. The revised Decision, which reflects the recognition of two additional ECAIs and the de-registering of three ECAIs, is part of the Single Rulebook in banking and will ensure regulatory harmonisation across the European Union (EU) regarding the use of unsolicited credit ratings for determining institutions' own funds requirements.

EBA issues revised list of ITS validation rules

The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a public consultation on draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) specifying the requirements for originators, sponsors, original lenders and servicers related to risk retention, in line with the Securitisation Regulation. The RTS aim to clarify requirements relating to risk retention, thus reducing the risk of moral hazard and aligning interests. The RTS also provide clarity on new topics, including risk retention in traditional securitisation of non-performing exposures (NPE). The consultation runs until 30 September 2021.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its quarterly Risk Dashboard together with the results of the spring edition of the Risk Assessment Questionnaire (RAQ). The Q1 data shows that the CET1 ratio increased slightly on a fully loaded basis. The NPL ratio improved further, except for some sectors that may have been more affected by the pandemic. Banks’ profitability improved significantly.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today an analysis of the current RegTech landscape in the EU. The Report assesses the overall benefits and challenges faced by financial institutions and RegTech providers in the use of RegTech. It also identifies potential risks arising from that RegTech solutions that supervisors will need to address and proposes actions designed to enhance knowledge and skills in competent authorities. These actions also aim to ensure technological neutrality in regulatory and supervisory approaches to RegTech, whilst addressing any inadvertent obstacles within the Single Market to facilitate the adoption of RegTech across the EU.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) announced today that individual results for the banks participating in the 2021 EU-wide stress test, along with a report summarising the results in aggregate terms, will be published on Friday 30 July 2021 at 18:00 Central European Summer Time (CEST).

The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a public consultation on its revised Guidelines on common procedures and methodologies for the supervisory review and evaluation process (SREP) and supervisory stress testing. The comprehensive revisions aim at implementing the recent amendments to the Capital Requirements Directive (CRD V) and Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR II), as well as aligning with other regulatory developments and best supervisory practices. The consultation runs until 28 September 2021.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its final draft Implementing Technical Standards (ITS) on information on supervisory approaches and aggregate statistical data concerning the new prudential requirements that competent authorities will have to disclose publicly for all types of investment firms authorised under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID). These final draft technical standards, which are part of the Phase 2 mandates of the EBA Roadmap on investment firms, will ensure that the disclosed information is comprehensive and comparable across all Member States.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today an Opinion following the notification by the Estonian macroprudential authority, Eesti Pank, of its intention to extend a measure originally introduced in 2019 to ensure that banks hold sufficient own funds to cover systemic risks related to housing loans and to act as a backstop limiting any further decrease in risk weights. For credit institutions that operate in Estonia and use the internal ratings-based (IRB) approach, the measure introduces a minimum level for the average risk weight for residential mortgage loans to obligors residing in Estonia. Based on the evidence submitted, the EBA does not object to the extension of the proposed measure, which will be applied for two years.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a public consultation on amendments to its Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) on credit risk adjustments in the context of the calculation of the Risk Weight (RW) of defaulted exposures under the Standardised Approach (SA). The proposed amendments follow up on the European Commission’s Action Plan to tackle non-performing loans in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which indicated the need for a revision of the treatment of defaulted exposures under the SA. This update is necessary to ensure the prudential framework does not create disincentives to the sale of non-performing assets. The consultation runs until 23 September 2021.

The European Commission, the European Central Bank in its banking supervisory capacity (ECB Banking Supervision), the European Banking Authority (EBA) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) today issued a joint statement in which they strongly encourage market participants to use the time remaining until the cessation or loss of representativeness of USD LIBOR, GBP LIBOR, JPY LIBOR, CHF LIBOR and EUR LIBOR to substantially reduce their exposures to these rates. The statement also encourages market participants to cease using the 35 LIBOR settings, including USD LIBOR, as a reference rate in new contracts as soon as practicable and by 31 December 2021 at the latest. Participants are also called on to limit the use of any LIBOR setting published under a changed methodology and to include robust fallback clauses nominating alternative rates in all contracts referencing LIBOR. The European Commission, ESMA, ECB Banking Supervision and the EBA will monitor the situation and LIBOR exposures closely.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its updated Report on the monitoring of Additional Tier 1 (AT1) instruments including an update on the monitoring of the implementation of the EBA’s Opinion on legacy instruments and its considerations on ESG capital bonds. The objective of this update is to further strengthen the robustness and quality of EU institutions’ own funds and eligible liabilities instruments.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today a Report on the treatment of incoming third country branches (TCB) under the national law of Member States. The Report, which is addressed to the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission, illustrates the results of a stock-taking exercise conducted with competent authorities about their national regulatory law/regulations and supervisory practices and a mapping of the TCBs established in the Member States. Considering the increased volume of activities carried out by TCBs in a context of regulatory fragmentation across the EU, the Report lays down 14 high-level policy recommendations for further harmonisation of EU law.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a public consultation to amend its Implementing Technical Standards (ITS) on Supervisory Reporting with regards to COREP and asset encumbrance reporting as well as the reporting for the purposes of identifying global systemically important institutions (G-SIIs). Among others, this consultation paper aims to enhance proportionality in the area of asset encumbrance reporting, as recommended by the EBA’s Report on the Study on the Cost of compliance with supervisory reporting requirements (CoC report). The consultation runs until 23 September 2021.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) published today its Report on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) risks management and supervision. The Report, which is a key component of the EBA’s broader ESG work, provides a comprehensive proposal on how ESG factors and ESG risks should be included in the regulatory and supervisory framework for credit institutions and investment firms.